Networking 101 – Building Relationships with Bloggers

All blogs are written so that others could read them. This statement is true for both personal and business blogs. Otherwise bloggers wouldn’t take their diary online. So from the moment you publish your first post, you’ll be waiting for your soon-to-be readers and their take on what you have to say.

While waiting for readers to discover you might be a choice for some, the more impatient ones of use will approach readers proactively. And by far the most effective way to get them to read your writings is to bond with them, so them you’re worth exploring.

While most of us would like to think we’re great at it, there are quite a few tricks we can and should learn and there’s always room to improve. So what does building relationships (a phrase I actually prefer to “networking”) take?

Who do we bond with?

Both what you write and who you want to network with depend on your intended audience. Besides their interests and background, you need to think of what they like to read. You’d then of course start with blog readers. And where else would you find them if not on other blogs in your niche or on related niches?

Sure, there’s social media, from bookmarking and news sites to forums and everything else out there. There also magazine and portal readers, but all of these are not directly interested in blogs. This is how we bloggers discovered networking with bloggers has the best impact on our own readership.

Consequently, the better known the bloggers we network with are, the more exposure we get. Having your comments seen by a few dozens is not the same as having a few hundred see it. That is why we’re all drawn to those more famous than us, with more readers and more comments. Sure, the competition is tougher, but here’s where the art begins!

Where and how to approach bloggers?

First of all, their blogs. Most bloggers allow comments and that’s the first place to reach out. The idea is to find an angle when commenting that allows you to add something personal and valuable to the conversation. Showing your appreciation for a blogger and his post works once, maybe a couple of times, but if you don’t actively contribute to the conversation, both the author and his/her readers will ignore you.

There are bloggers such as Liz Strauss who place great value on replying to all comments. That will help you get the conversation started and possibly keep it going, as there’s that little option allowing you to get replies to your comment via email.
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Commonly Misunderstood Blog Tactics

With blogging turning into such an amazingly popular activity, it was only the next logical step that some people would position themselves as tutors for the blogging novices. Internet marketing blogs, SEO blogs, design, writing and blogging tips blogs emerged and some of them became leaders of opinion in the blogosphere.

The advantage they had over other blog was their information. The quality, the relevance and the applicability of their guidelines finally secured their path to world wide awareness, authority and eventually success.

But, while everything works well from their point of view, readers trying to implement their guides and tips might encounter a few problems, or might have a hard time deciding on the most viable solution for their blog.

We need to dig deeper

How many times have you encountered this advice?

Comment on other blogs in your niche.

I’d say that you’ve seen it on probably every single blog tips blog. But how many of them go deeper, telling readers how to select those blogs that will deliver the best results? How many will tell them what to stay away from and what kind of discussion to engage in?

How many blogs talk about branding yourself and your blog without explaining to the common user what branding means and a difference between a poor logo, for example, that will most definitely position you as a “wanna be”, instead of a professional?

I’m not trying to point fingers here! I’m just saying that we need to go deeper when approaching certain topics, and not expect our users to be internet savvy people. We have the advantage of years of experience behind, so the best thing to do is to put that experience to use for those that need it the most.

Now, let me share my point of view over a few commonly misunderstood blog tactics, and I’m not talking from a “tips” blogger’s perspective, but from the reader’s side. From that side where I’ve been and where I had to learn things by the “trial and error” method.
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Best blogging tips from the world’s top bloggers (1)

Over the years, experience has thought bloggers how to define their online personality, writing skills and furthermore use these skills to help less-experienced bloggers evolve. This is a hand-picked collection of the best blogging tips from the world’s top bloggers.

From ‘Lorelle on WordPress’

“Bloggers love to have other bloggers link to their sites”
Lorelle looks at linking as a strategy. Not only a strategy to exchange links and increase traffic, but as a strategy to reach people and build relationships. In the long run, this strategy would bring more traffic to your blog than those shameless self-promoting comments and posts!

“Give without expectation of return”
From Lorelle’s point of view, linking or positive writing about someone / something else should be done without expecting positive feedback, comments or backlinks. Write or link only because you like that someone, or their articles and don’t ask to get the same in return. It’s not a negotiation!

From ‘Problogger’

“Prove yourself first”
Darren Rowse, the man behind Problogger.com comments on how to build a good reputation inside a network. “There’s nothing more frustrating that networking with someone who disappears a couple of weeks later”, says Darren. The best thing you can do is to prove that you’re here to stay. Be constant and contribute to the network!

“Give your best content away”
If you want to build a solid base of readers, there is nothing better than constantly providing great content. Don’t save your best posts for later, or it might be too late. “The best way [...] to convince people that you’ll write great content in future is to show them great content now”, says Darren.

From ‘Copyblogger’

“Taking time to think”
While many wish to become successful bloggers, only a few manage to do so. Why? James Chartrand has found the secret key: “we don’t take the time”. In his opinion, the best thing you can do when writing a new article is to sit down and think about every possible way to present the story, as well as taking time to find the best informational resources.

“Personal branding”
“The key to effectively building your profile is the value you provide to others and what they say in result, not what you say about yourself”, stated Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger.

More blogging tips…

Next week, in the second part of this series, Blogsessive will bring you more high-quality blogging tips from the world’s top bloggers. Stay tuned!